Bridge to Nowhere
Coordinates: 39 ° 16 ′ 15.7 ″ S , 174 ° 58 ′ 20.5 ″ E
The Bridge to Nowhere ( German : "Bridge to Nowhere") is a concrete bridge that spans the Mangapurua Stream , a branch of the Whanganui River in Whanganui National Park on the North Island of New Zealand . Once designed as a road bridge , it has a concrete roadway width of around 3 meters. However, it leads to "nowhere" on both sides . There is no longer any road that uses this bridge in the middle of the jungle of Whanganui National Park.
Today a well-known tourist attraction, it is still protected from mass tourism due to its remote location. There are two options for access: by boat ( jet boat or canoe / kayak ) up the Whanganui to Mangapurua Landing and from there on a hiking trail after 40 to 45 minutes to the bridge. Alternatively, it can also be reached completely on foot via a path (around three hours) from the nearest street entrance.
The bridge over the deep Mangapurua Gorge (Maungapurua Gorge) was intended to aid access to a land area that the New Zealand government created in 1917 for newly settled farmers, former soldiers who had returned from the First World War .
The connection was built in the mid-1930s to enable the farmers to have better contact with the nearest town of Taumarunui . However, at this point in time, the majority of them, who had reclaimed the former jungle here , had already retreated from the region. When many farmers were called up for World War II , the region lost so many workers that the remaining families finally gave up the constant fight against the jungle in the early 1940s and moved to other regions of New Zealand.
A few years later there was nothing left of the former farms, equipment and roads. All traces of human settlements are now largely covered by forest.
Their story is told on a stone by the bridge. The text ends with the sentence:
"The disappearing road line, old fence lines, stands of exotic trees, occasional brick chimneys, and this bridge serve as reminders of the ill fated settlement of the Mangapurua valley."
"The disappearing road layout, old fence parts, groups of non-native trees, occasional brick chimneys and this bridge serve as a reminder of the failed settlement of the Maungapurua Valley."
Literature / sources
- Wolfgang C. Ehrnsperger (Ed.): Adventure travel - discover and experience New Zealand . 2nd Edition. Mairs Geographischer Verlag, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-89525-130-5 (page 77)
- DOC website on the history of the bridge